Lucifer's Angel
by Cykotyks
Summary: What exactly is an Angel of Lucifer? One God of Death is about to find out. [AU] [RenIchi shipping]
1. Chapter 1

**Summary**: What exactly is an Angel of Lucifer? One God of Death is about to find out.  
**Warning**: Cussing, violence, some...randomness shit...and RenjiIchigo shipping (duh XD)  
**Disclaimer**: Bleach and all song lyrics and titles belong to their respective owners. I own this fic, bitches :D  
**Author's Note**: Obviously, this is AU - well, halfway. My own twists are in it, because I like doing that (man, gotta love being an author :D). There is some OOC-ness and awkwardness because...well, I'm not trying, really XD This is just gonna be a short fic - maybe four or five chapters - just to get it out of my system. That being said, it'll probably be longer XD  
**Story Note**: This is _loosely_ based off of The Rasmus' song "Lucifer's Angel," the lyrics of which will be in these caps/bumps (and pieces said throughout the fic). And, of course, I'd like you guys to listen to it XD But that's just because I love these guys and I want you to love them, too xD  
**Second Story Note**: Urahara is still the 12th division's captain because...I need the research division and I hate– iye, _loath_ and _abhor_ Mayuri. So there n.n  
**Third Story Note**: Text _":Like this."_ is dialogue through the radio/intercom.

* * *

Lucifer's Angel – I

* * *

The shinigami exist to guide the souls of the dead into the afterlife, and protect the souls of the living from the lost souls known as Hollows.

But as with all things in this world, there is an adversary who works directly opposite of the shinigami. For the longest time, the shinigami believed their adversary to be the Hollow, but this was slowly being realized to be false…

* * *

Abarai Renji – known to most as the loudmouth red-haired lieutenant of the sixth division – _loathed_ paperwork. And stacks and stacks of it sat on his desk, looming over him, and he could swear they were laughing at him. The stack he was currently attacking seemed to get no smaller, even after _hours_ of hand-cramping work. In fact, he would almost say it got _bigger_.

So when the meeting was called, Renji wasted no time in throwing down his pen and rushing out of the office just short of flash-stepping the whole way there.

"We are receiving reports of an unknown reiatsu emission in…"

Renji was trying his best to pay attention to the old man – after all, it was the old man who was giving him a few minutes reprieve from the masses of paperwork – but strange reiatsu emissions weren't particularly interesting. The Hollow were constantly changing and morphing – evolving, if you will. Thus their reiatsu emissions weren't always the same. It was common for a Hollow to mutate rapidly, causing blips on their radars like this.

"It has been confirmed that this particular reiatsu does not belong to any Hollow…"

Okay – maybe things would get interesting.

"Our reports indicate that this creature is very powerful and potentially very dangerous…"

That perked Renji's interest real quick – anything powerful and dangerous was usually dealt with by the captains and lieutenants.

"There is some uncertainty in the reading of this reiatsu, but there are some marked similarities between this creature's signature and the signatures of the shinigami…"

Things were getting better and better! An unknown being similar to a shinigami – things were just _bound_ to get exciting.

"For initial scouting purposes, I am requesting for sixth division's Abarai-fukutaichou and third division's Kira-fukutaichou. Any objections?"

"Ah, Yamamoto-sou-taichou, if I may…" a voice spoke up.

"Yes, Urahara-taichou?"

"This is not necessarily an objection, but an addition, rather. If I may be so inclined, I wish to request that I be able to join Kira-fukutaichou and Abarai-fukutaichou in their scouting mission. For scientific purposes, you see."

"Very well. Twelfth division's Urahara-taichou shall join them as well."

* * *

"What do you think it is, Abarai-san?" Kira asked as they walked to their meeting point.

"Probably just some weird human mutation or something. Dunno – could be something really cool or scary. What about you?"

"Ah, I have no clue. It's a bit frightening, not knowing what we're looking for."

"That's why we have _these_, Kira-san," Urahara said, waving around a pair of sunglasses. "The details are rather boring, but the main thing is that you'll be able to recognize the unknown reiatsu. Plus they're stylish!" he added with a gleeful grin, handing Kira and Renji a pair each. "There's also a communicator built in. You just hold down this button here and talk and the rest of us will be able to hear you, no matter how softly you speak!"

"Enough with the details – can we get goin' yet?" Renji said, trying his best not to snap at the crazy scientist – Urahara was still a captain, after all.

"Eager, are we?" Urahara laughed. "Very well…"

* * *

It was dark out. They'd been scouting around for a few hours now, checking in every once in a while. They were still under their basic obligations to perform a konso on wandering souls and slay any Hollows they should come across.

So far, Renji hadn't seen anything, and he was getting bored. He stopped atop the roof of what looked like a warehouse and scanned the area. A sudden ripple in his senses put him on edge – and for good reason. A Hollow attacked him with a screeching battle-cry.

_Shit!_

Renji jumped away just in time and unsheathed his Zanpakutou, only to be attacked from behind by the same Hollow. He flash-stepped away and managed to slay the fast little thing, but the Hollow's claws left deep gashes on his back that were starting to burn.

_Fucking little…_

He took refuge in a nearby alleyway and pulled in his reiatsu all the way. He was about to call the others for assistance when a slight disturbance caught his attention. He turned scanning carefully through the glasses.

"Those won't help you," a voice spoke, startling the lieutenant. "Take them off and you'll be able to see me."

Renji took the voice's advice and moved them to rest on his forehead. Indeed, where the glasses had picked up nothing, a barefooted young man with orange hair sat on the highest crate, one knee pulled up to his chest. He looked maybe eighteen or twenty, and was clothed in black pants and a black long-sleeved button-up shirt. "Who are you?"

The man's eyes fixed on the shinigami for a moment before he disappeared out of Renji's sight, suddenly reappearing behind him, his hand placed on the middle of Renji's wounds. "My thanks for getting rid of that Hollow."

Before Renji could ask for an explanation, the wounds on his back closed up, healed completely, and then the orange-haired man was gone. Renji searched for him, but there wasn't even a trace of anybody else.

"_:Abarai-san, did you find anything?"_ Urahara's voice came through the radio.

Renji slipped the glasses back down. "No, just a Hollow," he answered.

* * *

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -**

* * *

Soooo... yeah. Review, please? n.n; 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach or The Rasmus' song "Lucifer's Angel." I own this fic. Kinda.  
**Note**: All of you greedy little things yapping for the second chapter, thank Hyou-kun for being brave enough to PM me, tearing me away from my self indulgence in the yummy world of HouseWilson slashy goodness (_that_ fandom is bigger than _this_ fandom, and I need smut to function).  
**Dedication**: HouseWilson smut.

* * *

Luficer's Angel – II

* * *

It was their second night of scouting. During the day, they took refuge in a designated house and kept the radar tracking going from in there while receiving reports from Soul Society. With the information, they planned out where they would search. 

Renji didn't care. From the pattern of the reports, he would almost say that their prey was deliberately leading them where he wanted. That is, of course, if the strange orange-haired man was who they were trying to find, and Renji had a feeling he was.

He also had a feeling he would see the man again at the same spot, and a part of him wanted that little bit of information to be kept to himself. After all, this was a scouting mission and he didn't have everything he needed to make a proper report.

* * *

He had the glasses off but the man was nowhere. "Dammit…" 

"Lookin' for me?"

Renji whipped around, trying to find the source, but the voice was directionless – everywhere and nowhere all at once. "What the…"

The voice chuckled. "Funny how the _gods_ know nothing about the angels."

"What're you talking about? Who the hell are you?"

"I think the more effective question would be _what_ the hell am I."

"Forget questions – show yourself, bastard."

"So noisy…" he sighed. He materialized on a bottom row crate, leaning against the wall.

"You actually listened…"

"Sorry, I feel bad teasing retards."

Renji fumed. "Real clever, creep."

He laughed. "Ah, so what was your question? Who the hell am I? Well, I'll gladly tell you if you tell me your name first, shinigami."

"Sixth division lieutenant Abarai Renji."

"Oh, so you've got a title. Well, in that case, I'm myoujou no tenshi Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Myoujou no tenshi?"

"As I said, you gods no nothing of the angels. I suppose that's just as well – it's not every day we choose to show ourselves."

"Why _are_ you showing yourself, then?"

Ichigo looked a bit uncomfortable. "That's not important."

"Screw importance – spill it."

"I don't think you're in a position to speak to me that way. I can hurt you just as easily as I healed you."

"Point taken," Renji grumbled. "So what exactly are you?"

"I told you, I am an angel of Lucifer. You know, the Devil? Ruler of Hell?"

"So you weren't kidding about that…"

"Of course not. But I suppose you wish to know what my purpose is, correct?"

"That'd be helpful."

"Where you shinigami are the gods of the souls of the dead, we are the angels of the souls of the living. We aim to corrupt humans, ignite that which draws them to unforgivable sin."

"Why?"

"I was getting to that – Hell, like Soul Society, needs souls. We require a steady flow of corrupt souls to continue to function. So I and others like me come out here to push souls toward corruption so that when they die, they quickly degenerate into Hollows and are slain by you, thus sending them into our world. And before you go and call me a bad guy, remember that it's a balance – a necessary mutual dependence for the survival of all worlds."

"Mutual dependence? Then how come we don't know about you guys?"

"Because _my_ job doesn't interfere with _your_ job – I mess with the living, you deal with the dead. Your God, though, knows of us, since He attempts to keep the souls of the living away from corruption and eternal damnation. However, He cannot do anything to us, otherwise that would upset the balance. You get that?"

"So why haven't we been able to detect you little bastards up until now?"

"I'm losing my ability to hide myself during the day."

"Why?"

"I did something rather unbecoming of an angel, so I'm losing my abilities as one."

"And what'll you become once you've lost everything?"

"Something similar to you – a shinigami. I only lose my abilities as an angel – I don't lose my abilities dealing with my own reiatsu."

"Huh… So what did you do that was so unbecoming?"

Ichigo chuckled grimly. "I saved a pretty girl from a man I corrupted – saved her from being raped, tortured, and killed. I believe that's what humans call a conscience. After that, I lost the will to corrupt, thus I lost my ability to corrupt. I'm down to killing, healing, and hiding."

"How're you allowed to heal but not save people?"

"It wasn't necessarily the act of saving her – it was undoing the corruption I had caused in the man's soul. I'm not supposed to use the time manipulation for things like that. I'm really not supposed to heal people, either, but I'm already in the shit-hole. Like it really matters anymore."

"So why're you showing yourself to me? If you just evade us for long enough, won't you just be able to hide yourself again once you're not an angel anymore?"

Ichigo sighed and averted his eyes for a moment before he was gone. When he reappeared, he was nose-to-nose with the shinigami. "You remind me of the pretty girl," he whispered, brushing his lips against Renji's, before he was gone again.

Renji was frozen in surprise. _What the hell just happened?!_

* * *

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -**

* * *

_ Behind those eyes lies the truth and grief  
Behind those beautiful smiles I've seen tragedy  
The flawless skin hides the secrets within  
Silent forces that secretly ignite your sins_

* * *

Myoujou no Tenshi: Lucifer's Angel

* * *

I notice that the longer I dangle the metephorical carrot that is The Next Chapter in front of you little bunnies, the more you start getting brave and chattering via reviews, even going so far as to PM me. That makes me feel special. 

So do yourselves a favor and review. Quickly. Or flame. I honestly don't care - no matter what you say, I still get that lovely little number in my stats.

* * *

I think House's snarkiness is rubbing off on me XD By the way - Hugh Laurie/Robert Sean Leonard (the sexy bastards who play House and Wilson, respectively, and if you didn't know that, I may have to hurt you) is also the ONLY real person slash I will probably EVER read. 

And on that fun note, I'm out!_  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**Dislcaimer**: I don't own  
**Note**: This is the second-to-last chapter. I may make a sequel, but it'll be a helluva lot more angsty (because I'm addicted to angst).  
**Dedication**: You guys, because I like getting over 20 reviews in the span of two chapters. So jump for joy - two chapters in the span of a day.

* * *

Lucifer's Angel – III

* * *

"Abarai-san?" 

Renji was snapped out of his day-dreaming by Kira's voice. "Huh?"

"Were you even paying attention?"

"Erm…no."

Kira sighed. "We're starting our scout in the afternoon this time. Urahara-san believes the creature goes into hiding during the night."

"Why're we tracking this guy down, anyway? I mean, it's not like he's done anything, right?"

"Research, Abarai-san," Urahara said, tapping Renji's head none too gently with his fan. "Whether or not this creature is any threat, there is still much to be learned."

"If we can find him."

"Well, yes, there is that problem."

"So how long do we attempt to catch this guy before we give up?"

"You seem very eager to get back to your paperwork," the captain said, eyeing the redhead.

"I'm not! It's just that this is getting boring, running around tryin' to find somethin' when we don't even know what he looks like or anything. Just feels like a wild goose chase."

"Abarai-san has a point…" Kira said, nodding in agreement.

Urahara smacked them both with his fan. "This is exactly why I'm here! You two are too lazy to properly complete this mission."

"It's not that we're lazy," Renji said, rubbing at the sore spot, "but this just seems like a big waste of time…"

"Research requires patience. Now get out and search!"

* * *

"It's too damn hot out…" Renji grumbled, settling himself against the rooftop wall in the shade created by a nearby building. "What the hell am I doing anyway?" 

"Lookin' for me?" Ichigo's voice cut through his mutterings.

Renji looked up to find the angel standing above him. "You look better at night," was all Renji could think to say.

"Sorry – daytime's not my most favorite, either. For obvious reasons," Ichigo replied, hopping down to sit next to Renji.

"Why're you out? Shouldn't you be hiding?"

"For the time being, Zangetsu is leading your friend on a false trail."

"Zangetsu?"

"My familiar. He'll usually take the form of a black cat or wolf, though he's able to take the form of any animal of the night. I'm able to relinquish the majority of my power to him, which makes him emit my reiatsu, and it gives me back my ability to hide. The risk I take is of him getting killed…"

"What would that do to you?"

"Well, I'd lose a very dear friend, for one! I mean, how would you feel if somebody killed your Zanpakutou?"

"That would essentially kill all my spirit power."

Ichigo smirked. "Same here."

A silence fell for a moment. "What do you do all this time?"

"Hm?"

"I mean, since you can't go around corrupting people anymore, what do you do when you're not bugging me?"

Ichigo gave him an innocent face. "_Am_ I bugging you?"

Renji eyed him back like he'd just sprouted a hand out of his head. "That face is creepy…"

The angel snickered. "I usually merge with Zangetsu and run around as a cat. I've been able to find quite a few cat-loving women who give me food when I give them that look."

"I'm sure it's a lot cuter on an innocent-lookin' cat than on a freaky kid like you."

"You didn't seem to find me so freaky last night."

"That was before your little trick," Renji growled, looking in the opposite direction, a scowl and a light blush on his face.

"My trick? Oh, you mean this." And Ichigo was instantly on the other side of Renji, nose-to-nose again, a smirk on his face.

"Ack—! Cut that out!" Renji freaked, shoving Ichigo away.

The angel chuckled. "You're kinda cute when you blush."

"I am NOT _cute_," Renji spat, glaring at him.

"Ah – of course not." Ichigo shifted to sit on the top of the ledge. "I'm sure you've been called handsome and manly by many women, am I right?"

"Yeah, hundreds 'n' hundreds of 'em," Renji said sarcastically.

"Hm? I would really think you'd be quite the lady's man with your good looks. Or is it your lack of charm that scares them off?"

Renji glared at him. "Shut up."

Ichigo laughed. "So it's your tough guy exterior? But usually girls are attracted to the stoic tough guys… So that must mean you're not all that stoic. A loudmouth, I take it – from the way you were acting last night, I guess that should've been obvious. And with the red hair and tattoos – quite the outcry for attention, if you ask me."

The shinigami was fuming. _This guy…really pisses me off…_

"And short-tempered. You're probably the jealous, greedy type, too, from the way you've been keeping these meetings secret from your teammates."

"How the fuck does that make any connection at all?"

"After last night? If you really despised or disgusted me, you would've alerted them, right? But you haven't. I think…you want me all to yourself."

Renji fought back a blush. "If I told them now, I'd be in trouble for not telling them sooner."

"Better late than never. If they catch you here with me, you'll be in more trouble."

That was very true…

Suddenly, Ichigo tensed with a scowl, looking behind him. "Seems as though your friend has found Zangetsu…"

"What'll you do?"

"_:Abarai-san! I think I've found it!"_ Kira's voice came through the radio. "_:Please assist me – I don't know what I can do without damaging it."_

"I'll be right there, Kira," Renji replied. When he turned his attention back to Ichigo, the angel was gone. _Bastard…_

* * *

It took him a minute to locate and get to Kira, but when he did, he found him tracking a black coyote. 

"What's this?" Renji asked.

"It's the strangest thing! It's giving off the same reiatsu signature as the one we're tracking, but I can't see it or the animal through the glasses! I can definitely feel it, though."

"So the thing we're tracking down is this mongrel?"

"I know, it's very strange, but I don't know how I could be mistaken… Besides, it spotted me before I spotted it and it's been systematically trying to lose me ever since. No normal animal would do such a thing. Ah! Where'd it go?!" Kira's sudden panic was justified – the coyote simply vanished.

Kira and Renji stopped.

"Augh – I can't find it anywhere…" Kira whined.

"Don't worry – it'll come out later," Renji said.

"Urahara-taichou, do you have any reading on the signature?" Kira asked through the radio.

"_:Negative. So you guys know what this creature looks like?"_

"Yes – it's just a black coyote. Should be easy enough to find."

"_:Not if it gets out of the city."_

"There's…also one other thing… The glasses don't pick up the reiatsu, nor are we able to see the coyote itself through them. We felt the reiatsu, though, so we should be able to recognize it again."

"_:Aiya… All that hard work put into these things and they're useless… Oh well, they still look nifty, right?"_

* * *

Ichigo sat in the corner of a dark dead-end alley, his knees pulled up to his chest, and the black coyote by his side. 

"Arigatou, aibou," Ichigo said, petting the coyote.

"What will you do next time, master? They will continue to hunt us now that they know we exist."

"No – they know that _you_ exist. Only _he_ knows that _I_ exist. They will be searching for a black coyote, not an orange-haired kid."

"So what is it that you wish to do?"

Ichigo thought it over for a moment. "I guess…we'll allow ourselves to be captured. Now that I'm like this, Soul Society isn't going to be so dangerous for us."

"What if we're killed?"

Ichigo smiled at him. "Don't worry, he won't let that happen."

* * *

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -**

* * *

_ Fly away, fly away, from the torch of blame...  
They haunt you, the Lucifer's Angels.  
Never lived, you never died, your life has been denied...  
They call you...the Lucifer's Angel._

* * *

Review, and chapter four will be up soon. Also, you can PM me with ideas for a sequel - I've got something sketched out, but sketches change ;P_  
_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: No ownage  
**Note**: Last chapter, and it's a bit longer. Be happy. It's also a bit more in-depth near the end. If I write a sequel, the details do have significance.  
**Dedication**: To learning when and how a story should and can end, because I suck at it.

* * *

Lucifer's Angel – IV

* * *

"Ah! There it is!" Kira pointed down to the black coyote wandering under the streetlamps. "You take the front – I'll circle around to—" 

"No need," Renji said. "It's giving itself up."

"How do you…?"

Before Kira could even finish his sentence, Renji was gone, down on the sidewalk. The redhead crouched down to the animal's level, glaring a bit. _What the hell're you up to, idiot?_

The coyote walked to him and sat down in front of him.

"You're a creepy mongrel…"

"I should say the same for you, Master Abarai," the coyote replied in a voice that wasn't even close to Ichigo's.

"Who are you?" he asked, knowing the answer.

"Zangetsu."

"A-Abarai-san…" Kira spoke up from behind him. "Is it…talking?"

Renji eyed him. "Yes, it's talking, Kira. Are you dense?"

Kira really didn't have an answer to that. "Ah, so you are Zangetsu-san?" Kira asked the animal.

Zangetsu shifted his gaze to the blond. "Please drop the formalities. You wish to capture me, correct? There is no reason for my captors to be so polite to me."

"Why _are_ you letting us capture you so easily?" Renji asked.

"Because it is the way things are."

Renji smirked. "Just like that, eh?"

"The only request I have is that only Master Abarai handles me. I will refuse to cooperate if anybody else tries to do so."

"So I gotta be the one to carry you back?"

"Hardly – there is no reason to make myself a burden for you," he said before he morphed into a raven, perching himself on Renji's shoulder.

"That works."

With that, Renji and Kira were back on their way to base.

"I wonder why he will only allow you to handle him?" Kira asked.

"Must be some sort of animal connection or something with Zabimaru," Renji answered with a shrug.

"Ah, that's right…"

* * *

After getting back to Soul Society, Renji had to convince Zangetsu to go with Urahara, and make sure Urahara wouldn't harm him. After that, he went back to his house, only to find the orange-haired angel sitting Indian-style on the end of Renji's bed. 

"How the hell…?"

"Your reiatsu leaves a trace signature – your home has the thickest trace. It's easy enough to track. I slipped out as soon as we got here. I'm still able to travel through shadows undetected."

"How many creepy abilities do you have?"

Ichigo smirked. "Quite a few. Although I wouldn't really call them creepy," he added, flicking his tongue across his lips.

Renji tried to ignore that last comment. "What'll Zangetsu do?"

"Anything your scientist asks. Honestly, I'm quite useless to him. Zangetsu can do everything I can do and more – plus he actually remembers everything," he added with a chuckle. "We don't have anything to hide, really. We've got just as much right to live as you do."

Renji sighed and shook his head. "I still don't understand why you gave yourself up so easily."

The angel chuckled again. "We're safer here."

"How so?"

"While I'm in the process of losing my powers, I appear similar to a vampire to the trained eye. The hunters were already starting to come after me."

"Hunters?"

"Vampire hunters. I mean, they can't kill me, but have you ever had a bullet go through your head? It fucking hurts."

The shinigami couldn't help but chuckle a bit at this. "So you decided to become a lab rat instead of being chased around and shot at?"

"Well, for one, it's only Zangetsu that's being a lab rat. And two, he's more of an informant. Thanks to you, that blond dude can't touch him. So yeah, being here is a lot safer than out there."

"But still – you could be stuck here for forever. Wouldn't you rather be able to stay out in the real world?"

Ichigo shrugged. "It's all the same to me. I've been in and out of the real world for hundreds of years. Never been here, though. Nice change of scenery."

"You're kidding, right? You're pretty much confined to my house or Urahara's lab if you don't want to get caught."

"During the day, yes. During the night, I have full control over the shadows. I won't lose that power."

Renji sighed. "Still – that can't be all that much fun. You'll end up getting restless during the day and slip out and get caught and then where will you be? Shinigami can kill you, can't they?"

"Not as fast as I can incapacitate them. I mean, yeah, it would suck. It's not like I wanna be labeled a danger or anything. But your scientist will figure that out that Zangetsu isn't any more of a danger than you or the emo-lookin' kid."

The redhead laughed outright at this. "Do you not pick up on names easily?"

"It's not that – I know names, but I can't say them. I can say my own name and Zangetsu's name and any name of other angels, but when it comes to humans and the souls of humans, I can't say their name unless…" He trailed off, waving his hand in frustration. "It's hard to explain. But Zangetsu can say their names."

"Just try – I'm curious now."

Ichigo sighed. "You know how saying somebody's first name is only proper with friends and equals? It's kinda like that, but it applies to the whole name and it's not just out of politeness or whatever – I physically cannot say their names."

"But you said 'unless' – what's it mean when you can say their names?"

The angel averted his eyes, casting them downward and tilting his head enough to hide them behind his bangs. "It means…that I have a special bond with them, Abarai Renji."

It took Renji a second to connect the sentence together. "W-wait. Special bond?" He wasn't sure he liked the sound of this. After the way Ichigo had been acting, it made more sense now, but it pointed to a kind of 'bond' that wasn't exactly…innocent.

Ichigo seemed to pick up on Renji's uneasiness with this. He glanced up at him, only to avert his eyes away again. "Say my name."

"What?"

He sighed and closed his eyes. "The trade-off is exactly the same for humans and souls to angels. They can't say our names, either. If they can, it's the same thing. So if you can't say my name, I'll leave you alone."

Renji frowned. "First tell me what you mean by 'special bond.'"

"It means whatever you want it to mean."

"Stop bein' so fucking cryptic, asshole."

"It's the truth!" Ichigo snapped, a bit angry now. His eyes were half-way open, but he still wouldn't look at him. "It's just a bond. It doesn't have to _mean_ anything unless you want it to."

Renji sensed something in his voice that he wasn't sure he wanted to acknowledge. "Can you have human emotions?" he asked calmly.

Ichigo finally opened his eyes fully and looked at him, a bit confused. "What kind of question is that?"

"You aren't a human soul or anything, right? So is it even possible for you to have human emotions?"

"We have emotions, you know… That trait isn't limited to humans alone."

"If you mean that animals can have them, too, yeah, you're right, but I'm talking about _human_ emotions."

"You mean you're talking about love, right?" he said, trying his best to hide his smile. "I can be happy and sad and confused, and I can hate and love and get attached and detached – I'm not a Hollow. I have a heart, just like you do. I may have been just a creation, but I was still able to learn and be influenced by things I saw and heard. Angels are twisted at creation, but their effectiveness isn't so great until they learn and understand human emotions and learn how to play with those – manipulate them into corruption. In learning that, we also gain our own personalities, just like you humans do. But I told you already, I've lost my ability to corrupt people. I'm just like you now, when it comes to that."

"So this bond… You're not trying to use me or anything, right? This is purely what I make of it?"

"If you want it to be that way, yes. I have no intention of hurting you like that. I've never liked making people like that, but even we have to do things we don't want to. But…I think, if you just say my name, you'll be able to understand."

Renji watched him for a moment before dropping his gaze and shaking his head with a sigh.

The slight surge of glee Ichigo had had faded and he averted his eyes. After a moment he straightened out his legs, getting up.

"Sit down, idiot," Renji snapped, startling the angel.

"But…"

Renji walked over and sat down next to him. "I'd really like to not be able to say your name, you know."

"Then I'll leave—"

"That's the other problem – I don't want you to leave, either."

Ichigo hesitated – his glee was starting to bubble up again. "Then…what do you want?"

The shinigami leaned back on his hands and looked up at the ceiling. "I have no idea. I just know that I don't want to say your name, and I don't want you to leave." He sighed and closed his eyes. "This 'special bond' thing just sounds kinda gay – I'm not like that, okay?"

"You aren't, or you don't want to be?"

Renji eyed him accusingly, but before he could even open his mouth to retort, Ichigo continued.

"Everybody is a little afraid of what they don't know or understand," he said, looking down at his hands, fidgeting somewhat. "Even angels get that. You're afraid to know the truth, so you avoid the situation. Completely, if what you were alluding to before is true," he added, looking up again, not even bothering to glance at Renji's face. "You're almost like me. Almost…_exactly_…like me."

Renji had taken to staring at the ceiling, not even seeing it, lost in his own thoughts. At the angel's last comment, though, he focused again. "How so?" he asked almost on reflex. It wasn't that he couldn't figure it out on his own, but that he didn't _want_ to understand it on his own. He needed that outside voice saying what he knew in his gut, so he could understand the truth, so he could agree.

Ichigo smirked with a soft snort, looking back down at the floor. _How so._ It was a familiar question – one he'd often resorted to asking. _Tell me what I know._ That was the initial translation. _Tell me what's true, so I can throw out what's false. Tell me what's true, so I learn how to hide it._ Those were the hidden meanings. The choices. Renji's choices. His choices. "You act…indifferent…to knowing you're different. You don't show it off, but you don't hide it. You show off in other ways – ways everybody else has access to. You hide yourself – your heart. You act like you can make friends, but there's nothing there. The real you is…detached. Disconnected. You don't like letting people in. And now…that you're faced with a situation like this, you don't know what you want, because letting people in…is dangerous."

"Am I supposed to assume that you're not dangerous?"

"I don't expect you to assume anything. I just want… I'd like for you to be able to understand this."

Silence fell, both in their own thoughts. It was a minute or two before Renji spoke. "I guess…words kinda suck at explaining this, huh?" It wasn't a question. "It's Kurosaki Ichigo, right?"

Ichigo smiled, barely keeping himself from grinning outright. But before he could say anything, Renji covered his lips with his own in a deep, passionate kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Ichigo chuckled softly. "Thought you said you weren't gay?" he teased.

"I also said I didn't want to say your name," he replied pointedly.

He smirked and kissed him again.

* * *

**- - - - - - FIN - - - - - -**

* * *

_ Beyond these clouds, you can hide all your tears...  
Beyond this world, you'll be safe from their wicked fears...  
And in their hearts they fear your demands...  
You know their minds won't accept you, they'll never understand..._

_Fly away, fly away, from the torch of blame...  
They haunt you, the Lucifer's Angels.  
Never lived, you never died, your life has been denied...  
They call you...the Lucifer's Angel._

_On your own...I know you can make it  
Truth or bone...I know you can shake it  
Survive alone...I know you can take it_

_Fly away, fly away, from the torch of blame...  
They haunt you, Lucifer's Angels.  
You never lived, you never died, your life has been denied...  
They call you...Lucifer's Angel_

_Fly away, fly away...  
Run away, run away...  
Hide away, hide away...  
Lucifer's Angel..._

* * *

Again, please review, and feel free to PM me with ideas for a sequel! 


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